STERLING — — On a night where the heavy weight classes battled but struggled to put up points, it was the small guys that would come up big for Sterling. Their contributions kept the Sterling wrestling team at a spotless 5-0 mark in duals so far this season with a 52-30 dual win over Patriot League foe Strasburg.

After dominating the first third of the dual, winning four of the first five matches — three via pins — to jump on the Indians 22-6, Strasburg stormed back.

The Indians collected two forfeit wins in the 170-pound class and in the 182-pound class, then earned hard-fought wins from Shane Coombs — the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the 220-pound class according to Tim Yount's On the Mat Rankings — over Zach Little in 3:42, and a pin at 3:53 by Jake Santistevan on Sterling's heavyweight Fabian Soto to take their first lead of the dual at 30-28.

That lead wouldn't last for long, though, as Jacob Beltran (106) stopped the skid for the Tigers the very next match with a pin of Chris Zacher in 1:12 to put them back on top 34-30.

"I knew I was going to have to go out there, finish the match quick, and just get six points for the team because we needed it," Beltran said.

Colby Duncan (113), Corbin Usry (120), and senior Austin Krier (126) all followed with pins to add the exclamation point on the night — each pin was completed in under 90 seconds — and seal the 52-30 win for Sterling.

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"The upper weights battled really tough with Strasburg with going up against the No. 1 ranked kid in 220's and same with heavyweight. I think if you wrestle that heavyweight match again, it might turn out the other way," Sterling head coach Chad Duncan said. "Most of those lower weights I felt like we'd have a good chance to win those matches and, if we wrestled well, get pins. And the kids did exactly that."

The points Sterling scored early helped, too.

In the first match of the night, sophomore Dustin Graves (132) got things going for the Tigers as he methodically strung together takedowns against the Indians' Cooper Raines.

Graves led 9-2 heading into the third period and then, after resuming from the starting position midway through the third period, Graves found his opening for a reversal that put him in position for the pin at the 5:13 mark.

"He (Raines) was pretty quick, but I was able to stay in there and slow the match down a little bit so I could use my technique more than my strength and it happened to work," Graves said. "Right off the whistle, I jumped out and got my hips straight. I felt my back separate from his stomach and that's when I hit the switch and it just happened. I got the reversal and worked from there."

Sterling would get a pin in 2:41 from Erick Krier (138) in the next match, a 9-0 major decision win for Joel Contreras (145), and a pin in 2:38 from Fidel Ochoa (160), who was wrestling in his first match of the season after joining the team over holiday break — the senior previously wrestled his freshman year — in succession to put Sterling up 22-0 before Strasburg mounted its comeback.

The Tigers will now prepare for their home tournament, the Sterling Invitational, starting at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday,

Sterling will be joined by Merino, Wiggins, Estes Park and a Kansas team in Saint Francis for the dual-style tournament.

For coach Duncan, he said what he is most looking forward to from the tournament is just for his team to wrestle on their home floor.

"It's just nice to be at home I think," Duncan said. "I know in years past, even though I wasn't the coach last year, that it seems like the kids really wrestle well at home. It (the Sterling Invitational) is a great opportunity for them to go out there, wrestle well and win some tough matches. Hopefully we can find those tough kids out there to push us a little bit. The teams that are coming have several tough kids, so hopefully we match-up with them and our better kids get their better kids. That's how everyone gets better."

RE-1 Valley School District has announced its policy for determining eligibility of children who may receive free and reduced price meals served under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program.
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